A Golden Flash of Thunder
by historian
Summary: DinoThunder-A Different Shade of Gold crossover.  Red Ranger Goldar ends up in canon DinoThunder.  Goldar is very confused, Tommy and Jason must confront the deep seated hatred they feel for the Goldar they knew, and Mesogog is in serious trouble.
1. Chapter 1

The Red Ranger woke up to the sound of birds singing.

For a split-second, that made the seasoned warrior freeze in disbelief. Then he gained his feet in one swift blur, ready for anything except the situation in which he found himself.

He was in a small clearing in a peaceful forest. Judging by the sun, it was late afternoon. He could only stare in disbelief.

How had he gotten here? The last thing he remembered was his Zord exploding around him; and his own horror, caused not by his imminent death, but the realization that he had failed. The Rangers had failed, falling before the might of Serpenterra...and

the world was doomed.

He closed his eyes, the images assaulting him with a pain that was physical. The Command Center in ruins; Alpha 5 shattered into a thousand pieces; the corpse of Zordon lying in the ruins of his tube. How ironic that he had finally been freed from his confinement...in death.

And the dead bodies of his teammates, buried under the flaming rubble of their Zords.

And it was all his fault. He had started the chain of events that lead to Zedd's victory. The grief threatened to drive him mad, and he fell to his knees sobbing. How could he have survived? What good was life now, when there was no hope? Was this some new torment devised by Zedd; punishment for his betrayal?

"WHY??!!" he screamed at the uncaring sky.

---

Cassidy kicked her car's tire angrily, but it stubbornly remained flat. "Damn it!" she cursed.

"Can't we just put the spare on?" asked Devon.

"That IS the spare!" Cassidy huffed. "The regular tire won't be fixed until tomorrow."

"So...now what?" Devon asked.

Cassidy calmed down. "We walk," she said simply, opening the rear door and grabbing her backpack.

"Walk to Doctor O's?" Devon looked forlorn even as he grabbed his own bag, plus his ever-present camera.

"Why not?" Cassidy asked, surprised. "We were on the way there anyway."

"It's a long walk," Devon pointed out. "And he's not exactly expecting us."

Cassidy waved that away. "We're his students. Of course he'll help us. And I'm sure he'll agree to our request."

"You really think filming his acreage will get you on TV?"

"I told you, they're doing a special on rural areas. Doctor Oliver's house is about as rural as you can get in Reefside."

Devon gave up, knowing from long experience that nothing could discourage Cassidy Cornell when it came to her goals.

However, they only taken two steps when a scream echoed from the forest to the north of the road. Both teens jumped a foot in the air.

"What was THAT?" Cassidy gasped.

"Could we please not find out?" Devon begged.

"Are you kidding? This could be news! Come on!" Cassidy took off into the trees.

Devon gave a long-suffering sigh. After all this time, he still couldn't decide whether Cassidy possessed extraordinary courage or absolutely zero survival instincts. He reluctantly followed.

---

"My lord Mesogog..."

"What is it, Elsa?"

"I have detected an energy surge near Doctor Oliver's house. While I have never seen this type of energy before, it bears some resemblance to the Dino Gems."

"More Rangers, Doctor Oliver? That is not acceptable. Take Zeltrax and the Tyrannodrones with you to that location. Capture the energy source if possible, whatever it may be. If that's not possible...destroy it."

"Yes, my lord."

---

The Dino Thunder Rangers were in the middle of a training session in Tommy's back yard. The teenagers had paired off and were sparring; Conner vs. Kira and Trent vs. Ethan. Tommy stood off to the side and watched, occasionally giving advice.

"Keep your left up, Ethan. Conner, watch..." he broke off and winced as Kira flipped the Red Ranger onto his back, knocking the wind out him. "As I was saying, watch her feet. That will tip you off that she's going to do that move." A gasping Conner nodded.

Tommy broke off when his morpher chimed. The kids, hearing their own morphers, quickly stopped and headed towards him. "Yes, Hayley? What's so urgent you couldn't walk out here and tell us?"

"Just thought you'd like to know, Oliver, that I've picked up an energy surge about two miles from here," she responded tartly. "It's a little like an invisoportal, but at the same time, it isn't. I've also found readings that look a Dino Gem activating."

Tommy sobered immediately, and so did his team. That last time a new Dino Gem had surfaced, it started the whole evil White Ranger nightmare. "We're on it." He turned to the teens. "Let's get the cycles, guys."

They nodded and took off running, but not before he heard Conner mutter "please don't let this one be evil."

Tommy kept silent, but he agreed whole-heartedly.

---

Devon wondered at first if Cassidy had any clear idea of where she was going, but the duo soon head the sounds of sobbing coming from up ahead. Devon winced. This was the part of journalism he really didn't like: intruding on someone's grief. Not that that ever stopped Cassidy, of course.

They finally reached a small clearing, and found a large man dressed in a red shirt and blue jeans sitting on his knees. He was so wracked with grief he didn't even notice them. Cassidy assumed her interview mind-set and motioned for Devon to start the camera. She walked up to the man and began her spiel. "Cassidy Cornell, reporter for..GAAK!!"

With amazing speed, the man leaped to his feet and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her feet a foot off the ground. Devon took several steps backward in shock. This guy wasn't just big...he was huge! He had to be 6' 6", and built like a mountain. The blond-haired, blond-bearded man dwarfed the blond girl he was now clutching in one hand. His expression was thunderous. "I just watched my friends die, and you want an INTERVIEW!?! Zedd is even more cruel than I thought!"

Zedd...Devon recognized that name. To her credit, like any good reporter, Cassidy had done her homework, and as usual had dragged Devon along for the ride. Zedd had been one of the villians the original team of Rangers had fought, but that had been over a decade ago. And wasn't he good now?

Devon realized he had a more immediate problem. Cassidy was turning an ugly shade of purple. Dropping his camera, he raised his palms in a beseeching manner. "Hey, dude, chill...". Weak, he knew, but what was he suppossed to do to a guy who looked like he could turn Devon into hamburger just by looking at him?

To his surprise, it seemed to work. The giant's shoulders slumped, and he dropped Cassidy to the ground. "Go. Just go." He turned away.

Devon wasn't about to question him. He helped Cassidy to her feet, her still-rasping breath not stopping her from shooting the giant a very impressive glare. Shaking off Devon's hand, she started to stalk away.

Only to come to a screeching halt as a swirl of energy deposited Zeltrax, Elsa, and ten Tyrannodrones.

---

The Red Ranger's battle instincts screamed their warning, and he spun around even before the villians finished landing. He immediately recognized them for what they were.

Elsa pointed her sword at him. "Lord Mesogog wants a word with you!" She seemed to think that would be enough to intimidate him.

She didn't know him very well.

When he just stared back impassively, she motioned to the Tyrannodrones. "Sieze him! And get rid of those annoying teenagers."

The fog in his mind burned away in an instant. Never mind his grief; never mind the fact that he didn't have a clue what was going on. Innocent lives were being threatened.

And he was a Ranger.

There was only one thing to do.

"Run!" he shouted at the frozen teens, throwing himself at the eager Tyrannodrones.

---

"You're almost there," Haley's voice sounded in the Ranger's helmets.

"Look!" Connor (he was in the lead) pointed ahead. The Rangers slowed down as two familiar figures came running out of the woods. They stopped in surprise when they saw the morphed Rangers.

"You two all right?" Tommy asked as the Rangers dismounted.

They nodded, gasping for air. Devon managed to get out "Those crazy cyborgs and some Tyrannodrones are attacking someone back there!"

The Rangers stiffened. "Who?" Ethan demanded.

Cassidy shook her head. "I don't know, but he's scary!"

"No lie!" Devon agreed. "He's tearing those 'drones apart with his bare hands!"

The Rangers looked at each other in surprise. That wasn't the usual response of civilians when threatened with the villians' foot soldiers.

Tommy put authority in his voice. "You two keep going. It's not safe here." He was surprised again when Cassidy didn't argue. She must have been geniunely shaken. The two teens nodded and took off again, albeit at a slower rate.

The Rangers headed in the direction the two civilians had been running from.

---

They arrived in the clearing just in time to witness the giant -- there was really no other way to describe him -- tear off the head of the last intact Tyrannodrone. It fell decapitated to the ground, sparking. The blond man tossed the head away contemptously and faced Elsa and Zeltrax again.

The Rangers stopped at the edge of the clearing, shocked. "Dude..." Connor breathed.

"Remind me never to piss this guy off!" Ethan agreed quietly.

"We still have to help him," Kira pointed out. "He handled the 'drones, but those cyborgs are another story."

And indeed, the two villians, though they looked just as surprised as the Rangers (well, Elsa did; it was impossible to tell what Zeltrax's expression was), were closing the gap between them and the big man. "You may have handled them," Zeltrax raised his weapon threateningly, "but we're a lot better than they are!"

The giant chuckled grimly. "I've heard that before. But I must admit you do have a bigger mouth." Both cyborgs growled at him. "So allow me to dress for the occasion!" Golden fire erupted from his form.

When it faded, Goldar of Titan bared his fangs at his nemesis.

---

The Rangers had been about to enter the fray, but this sudden transformation stunned them into immobility.

"Hey, he looks familiar..." Trent started.

Ethan agreed. "Dr. O, wasn't he in your vid-"

"Shut up."

The teen Rangers blinked. Dr. O had never been that rude to them before.

Ethan tried again. "I was just saying..."

"Shut. Up."

The teens stared at Tommy in astonishment. He was standing rigid, his hands curled into fists as he stared fixedly at Goldar. The was a tone in his voice--something beyond his rude words--that they had never heard before. They didn't understand

this at all. But they knew one thing.

They didn't like it.


	2. Chapter 2

The Rangers weren't the only ones shocked by the unexpected transformation. Zeltrax and Elsa stopped just outside of Goldar's reach, reflexively raising their weapons. "What _are_ you?" Zeltrax asked in disbelief.

Goldar's huge sword appeared in his hands. "Someone you shouldn't mess with."

For a moment it looked like the cyborgs might actually back off. But then their arrogance (and fear of their master) returned to them. With a war cry, Elsa leaped forward, her own sword meeting Goldar's with a loud _clang_, and Zeltrax immediately followed.

The battle was on.

---

The Rangers watched in awe as the three combatants spun and ducked around each other, their weapons and Goldar's armor flashing in the sun. The Rangers knew that Elsa and Zeltrax were pretty tough--only Doctor O. could handle either of them one-on-one--but this new guy was very nearly a match for both. Zeltrax was a little stronger than Goldar, and Elsa a little faster, but they were still having a tough time.

"Dr O. shouldn't we _do_ something??" Connor burst out after several minutes had passed.

'No!" the Black Ranger replied in that new voice that quite frankly was starting to scare Connor. "Let's let them settle this among themselves. We'll fight whoever wins."

"But if he's a villian, why is he fighting them?" Kira voiced the thought on all the teen's minds.

Tommy didn't answer. He just kept watching the battle and flexing his grip on the Brachio Staff. _How, you bastard? How!? Trey watched you disintergrate! How can you still be alive!!? You're NOT getting your hands on my kids, you son of a bitch!_

---

After about ten minutes, it became clear that Goldar was losing. He had already been through an exhausting battle earlier today, and had been traumatized been the destruction of his friends and the doom of his world. With a combined kick, the cyborgs sent him flying backwards to land in a heap of limbs and wings.

"Now...are you...going to come...along quietly?" Elsa demanded. It would have sounded more intimidating if she hadn't been gasping for breath. The fight had obviously taken a lot out of her. Zeltrax too looked winded, with several large dents in his armor.

Goldar struggled to his feet. "No," he said simply. Something gold and silver appeared in his hand. "It's morphing time! Tyrannosaurus!"

Red light flowed over Goldar. When it faded, he wasn't covered in the usual "Ranger armor". Instead, he his own golden armor was now tinged with red, and his blue wings now had red streaks in them. The Power Sword appeared in his left hand.

Normally, Goldar would have obeyed the Ranger Rule of "never escalate a fight". But his friends--his _family_--were dead, Zordon was gone, his world conquered, and all in all he'd been having _**A REALLY BAD DAY!!!**_

He crossed his swords. "RED/GOLD INFERNO!"

And the air around him...roared.

Zeltrax and Elsa took several steps back instinctively as red/gold flames erupted in front of Goldar. Before they could do anything else, the fireball leaped across the short distance between the combatants and engulfed the cyborgs.

And they...screamed.

For several seconds the fire raged. When it dissipated, nothing was left but ash and melted metal.

The day's events and the Power expenditure finally caught up with Goldar, and he fell unconscious to the ground, first demorphing and then returning to human form.

--

The Dino Thunder Rangers had watched in stunned silence. "What...was that??" Trent finally said softly.

"Did he just _morph_?" Ethan echoed.

"Did he just destroy Elsa and Zeltrax with _one shot?_" Kira continued.

Connor was about to say something, but then he looked to Tommy in concern. "Dr. O? Are you all right?"

Tommy was swaying on his feet. _He just MORPHED!! With Jason's morpher! The morpher that was destroyed almost a decade ago!! Of all the impossible colors he could be, he's RED?? That a TRAVESTY!! That's a mockery of everything that color stands for! That's...that's..._

And Tommy Oliver...fainted dead away. _Author's Note: This is my revenge on Tommy for making Kim faint in "White Light" Hee hee!_

The teen Rangers looked from the unconscious form of the Greatest Ranger Ever to the equally unconscious form of his greatest enemy, at a complete loss what to do.


	3. Chapter 3

At a complete loss of what to do, Connor raised his morpher to his face. "Haley? Have you been watching this?"

"Yes," Haley sounded shaken. "Bring them both back to the lab. I'll rig up some restraints for Goldar." Then she muttered, "We'll probably need some for Tommy too."

Connor got the distinct impression that he wasn't supposed to have heard that. But he decided he was confused enough for one day. "Will do, Haley." He thought for a minute. "Trent and I are the strongest. We'll hold them up in front of us as we drive...carefully. Let's go."

(Scene Change)

Haley bit her lip as she activated the forcefield restraints on the table Goldar' s body lay on. She wasn't sure they were strong enough--Titans were the strongest known sentient species in the galaxy. They could tear through steel like tissue paper. But it was the best she could do.

She turned around and started to head to Tommy's bed, intending to make sure his unconsciousness was _only_ a simple faint. But Connor intercepted her firmly, stopping Haley with a raised hand. "Haley, with all due respect, we need answers."

Haley sighed, knowing she couldn't put this off any longer. She was sure the teens had noticed that Tommy did not like to talk about his Ranger past. It's not that Tommy was ASHAMED of it, per se; he just felt it was "ancient history" and not relevant to the situation with Mesogog. Tommy especially did not want to bring up old pain--his relationships with Kimberly Hart and Katherine Hillard were at the top of that unofficial list. Haley was pretty sure Goldar was on that list too. But the kids had a right to know, and she was just as confused as they were.

So..."You remember Tommy's video?" she asked.

Ethan nodded. "The gold guy was in the first part, the...Mighty Morphin Rangers, right?"

"Yes, but that's only scratching the surface." Haley sat down on a chair and motioned the DinoThunders to do the same. "I'm surprised Tommy allowed even that much to be public." She really had the teens' attention now. "Goldar was there from the very beginning; he was the first villian the Power Rangers of Earth ever faced. He never hesitated to take on the entire team himself, and also went up against their Megazord countless times. He despised the Rangers on principle, and they returned the feeling, but that was just the standard villian-Ranger dynamic. It wasn't personal yet...not until Tommy came along."

Connor, who like the others had been paying rapt attention, said "Dr. O. started out evil, didn't he?"

The other Rangers glared at him, and Haley winced. "Yes, he did, but a word of advice: don't _ever_ try to discuss that period of his life with him unless HE starts the conversation." That was not an idle warning. Hayley had known most of Tommy's Ranger past for over a year before he broke down and talked to her about the Evil Green Ranger. "And that's when the hatred started. Goldar, like most villians, had a big ego. The very fact that Rita was desperate enough to finally use the Green Power Coin was an admission that Goldar couldn't defeat them on his own, and that rankled. It got worse when Goldar realized Tommy was the superior fighter. The breaking of the spell and Tommy's "defection" to the Light put the iceing on that cake. Goldar would gladly fight any Ranger he could find...but when given the choice, he ALWAYS went for Tommy."

"Tommy didn't return his hatred right away, not at that level. He hated Goldar because he was villian, that was all. But Tommy noticed that Goldar kept singling him out, and did his best to make his life miserable. The turning point was the Green Candle." Seeing the teens' confusion, she explained. "The Green Candle was Rita's failsafe for the Green Ranger. When she realized that Tommy had left the Darkness behind for good, she lighted it and put it in her Dark Dimension, with Goldar guarding it. When the Candle burned out, Tommy's powers would be gone." The DinoThunders gasped. They couldn't imagine what it would feel like if Mesogog drained their powers. "It was a damn good plan, and it's the only plan she had truly almost succeeded. Tommy couldn't go after it himself, since that would only accelerate the process. So Jason, the first Red Ranger and the team's leader, went after it instead." Haley sighed. "Goldar beat him. How, I don't know, since Jason had beaten the villian many times before, but the Ranger lost that fight. The Rangers managed to transfer what was left of the Green Power to Jason so Rita didn't get it, but Tommy wasn't a Ranger anymore."

"That's what ignited Tommy's hatred for Goldar. He was the one primarily responsible for the Power loss. Tommy whole identity was bound up with being a Ranger so he could make up for the evil he'd done. It was unforgivable. The feud shifted into high gear after that. When Goldar tricked the other Rangers into giving up their Power Coins, Tommy regained his powers and beat him. When Zedd took over and destroyed the Green Power for good, it was Goldar who trapped Tommy in an alternate dimension and taunted him with that fact. When Tommy became the White Ranger and leader of the team, Goldar took it as a personal insult. And on and on it went."

"Goldar survived three straight years of fighting Earth Rangers," Haley said flatly. "No other villian has even come close to matching that accomplishment. Unlike the random monsters of the week, he knew when to retreat. He's not as smart or as dangerous as he thinks he is, but he's smart and dangerous enough. Tommy and Jason were the only Rangers who could ever match him." She looked down and said softly, "When I realized who you were facing, I thought you were in big trouble."

"But since when do villians morph?" Trent protested.

Haley shrugged. "That's a good question. Here's another one: why is he even alive? He died during the Countdown. Where did he get the Red Power Coin, which was destroyed almost ten years ago? All of those things should be impossible."

"My head hurts," Connor grumbled.

"Normally, I'd make a joke about that, but right now mine hurts too," Ethan said.

Kira, however, had picked up on the point Haley was trying to make. "So, when it comes to Goldar, Dr. O.'s not going to be real...rational, is he?"

"I think the phrase "homicidal rage" would be a good description," Haley sighed.

"You mean Dr. O. would just...kill him?" Trent gulped.

"He would. And what happened to Elsa and Zeltrax should have shown you that Goldar doesn't hesitate to kill either."

"We can't let that happen," Connor set his jaw firmly. "We don't have the whole story; he's at least technically a Ranger; and we owe him big for getting rid of those two cyborgs."

"Good luck stopping the Doc," Kira snorted.

Just then they heard a moan. Tommy was waking up.

NEXT CHAPTER:

Tommy calls Jason in an attempt to get his thoughts into order. If you think the DinoThunders are confused, they have nothing on Goldar! He's waking up into a world full of ex-Rangers who want him dead...and that's still an improvement over the world he left.


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note: There is swearing in this chapter._

Tommy groaned softly as he regained consciousness. _Oh man, what a dream! Goldar coming back as the Red Morphin Ranger...that's it, Tommy, no more anchovy pizzas before bedtime._ He started to rise from his bed--only to realize he couldn't move. _What the..._He opened his eyes to discover he wasn't in his bedroom, he was in the lab. And he was...strapped down?!

"Tommy?" Haley's face appeared overhead. "How are you feeling?"

"Like a prisoner!" he snapped. Then a horrible thought struck him. "Oh no, you've been turned evil, haven't you?? Shit!"

"Whoa there, Tommy! Nobody's been turned evil! Quite the opposite, in fact. Those restraints are just to keep you from doing anything foolish. What's the last thing you remember?"

Tommy concentrated. "Sparring with the Rangers. They must have knocked me out or something, because then I had this really weird dream about Goldar..." He noticed an uncomfortable look on Haley's face, and his stomach started to sink. "Haley..." he asked warningly.

Haley stepped to one side, allowing Tommy to see the large blond man (if he could be called that) restrained on the other table.

"Son of a bitch!" Tommy struggled furiously with his restraints.

"Dr. O., calm down!" Connor's voice floated over to him.

"Calm down! CALM DOWN! Do you have ANY idea who that is!?"

"Yes. Haley filled us in. And we're NOT going to let you go postal."

"But it's GOLDAR!"

"We're aware of that..."

"Dammit, Connor!"

"Black Ranger, your Red Ranger is ordering you to stand down!"

For a long moment, Tommy just stared at Connor in shock. His student had never used that voice on him before. How dare this teenage brat order him! But then he remembered his promise when he became the Black Ranger: "The Red Ranger leads the team." He'd told Connor who was ultimately charge, and now he had to live up to it.

It took all of his formidable self-control, but he calmed down. "Sorry, Connor."

Connor accepted his apology with a nod. "Release him, Haley."

After Haley did so, Tommy stood up and stretched his stiff muscles, deliberately not looking in Goldar's direction. "What's our status, team?"

Haley gave him an abbreviated version of what had happened an hour ago, and what she'd told the younger Rangers about Goldar. After Tommy took that in, he said, "Haley, run every test on him you can think of. I want to know for sure who he is, because the Goldar I knew could never have wielded the Power. Do the same for his Coin. When do you think he's going to wake up?"

"Probably not for at least twelve hours; he's exhausted."

Tommy looked at the teen Rangers. "There's no sense in you four hanging around. Haley can run the tests by herself, and those restraints could hold a bull elephant. Why don't you head for home, and I'll see you tomorrow morning before school."

They nodded. "What will you be doing, Dr. O.?" Kira asked.

Tommy's smile held absolutely no humor. "I have to make some phone calls."

NEXT CHAPTER: Tommy has a conference call with his former teammates, and they're not exactly thrilled either. But what can they do? Meanwhile, Mesogog has not taken the loss of his henchmen well, and the DinoThunder Rangers are called back into action. And Goldar wakes up...


	5. Chapter 5

The teens had left, and Haley had soon followed, heading back to her café…though not without giving the Black Ranger a very formidable warning glare. Tommy noted idly that she was the only non-Ranger female capable of a glare like that he'd ever met.

As soon as his brilliant partner was gone, Tommy walked over to a deceptively blank section of wall and pressed a hidden switch. With a low hum, the wall rose up, revealing a communications device at least two hundred years ahead of anything on Earth any non-Ranger possessed. He hit the power switch.

Of the current Ranger team, only Haley knew this device existed, though Billy had been the one to actually invent it, of course. After the chaos and bloodshed of the Countdown, the ex-Rangers had realized they needed a foolproof way to stay in contact, since it had become obvious that the battles of their successors could easily spill over into their civilian lives. Billy rose to the challenge and designed an ingenious machine. It used the small traces of Power that lingered in all of Zordon's Rangers to "alert" them that one of their fellow heroes had something important to say-much like Billy's old communicators.

The really brilliant part was that the device also used the trickles of Power to convince whomever the ex-Ranger(s) were with that there was nothing strange about said ex-Ranger suddenly making an urgent exit. This was much the same as the way the Power had blunted the perceptions of the citizens of Angel Grove, who would otherwise have easily figured out who the Rangers were.

Although all of the twelve Rangers who had served under Zordon still seriously wondered about Ernie…

The bottom line was that when Tommy wanted to talk to his former teammates, he could do so in a matter of minutes…such as now.

In less than ten minutes, the big split screen showed Jason, Zack, Billy, Trini, Kim, Rocky, Adam, Aisha, Kat, Tanya, and Justin, looking back at him with expressions of concern. This device was only to be used for "Ranger emergencies".

With no preamble, Tommy stated, "Goldar's back."

After a pregnant pause, Kim's reply was equally preamble-free: "Shit!"

Jason's response, thanks to his status as co-leader, was much more constructive than that of the Black Dino-Thunder Ranger's ex-girlfriend: "Do you need backup, bro? I know you've always been able to handle him before, but you're a mentor now…a mentor with four still-green Rangers on his hands."

"It's…more complicated than that," Tommy confessed, his confusion shining through. "He has the Red Power Coin…and he was using its' power!"

This time the shocked silence that followed Tommy's statement was more eloquent than any obscene word.

Finally, Billy recovered enough to ask, "Use it _how?_ Did he morph?"

"Sort of," Tommy began, obviously still confused. "He did the morphin call, but he didn't end up in the normal armor. Instead his usual armor was tinted red. Oh, and he had red streaks in his wings."

"Did he get a power boost from it?" Adam asked in concern.

"Damn right he did!" Tommy snarled. "He summoned the Power Sword, combined it with his regular sword, and obliterated Zeltrax and Elsa with one shot!"

The ex-Rangers on the screen paled. Rocky swallowed and asked, "Obliterate, as in…"

"As in dead and gone!" Tommy confirmed. "Mesogog is now without any minions."

"Well...that's good, right?" Kat offered weakly. Tommy just looked at her, and her expression turned sheepish.

"Do you need us, bro?" Jason asked again.

Tommy hesitated, then shook his head. "We have him restrained now, and it looks like that fight totally drained him. We should be able to keep things under control." His expression turned even more serious. "But I would like you guys to be ready to respond at a moment's notice." His fellow Rangers nodded solemnly. "Billy, I'd appreciate if you used that brain of yours to help Haley figure out just what's happening here."

"Count on it," Billy assured him.

Tommy moved to sign off, then stopped. "One more thing. Keep your eyes open…I'd hate to think what would happen if any more of our old _friends_ show up."

Judging by their reactions, his friends didn't like that idea.

"Good luck, Tommy…and tell the rookies we're proud of them!" Aisha said.

Tommy nodded, and they all signed off.

TBC…

Next time: Tommy's not happy. The DinoThunder teens aren't happy. Zordon's Rangers aren't happy. Mesogog's not happy. And they're all going to be a LOT less happy now that Goldar's awake…and they find out what his horrible mistake cost the Rangers in his universe!


End file.
